“How Can We Be More Present?”: Rev. angel Kyodo williams at WDS

Earlier this week we released the first round of tickets for WDS 2017, a week-long gathering of creative, remarkable people—taking place next summer in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Those tickets are now sold out—join the waiting list to get notice of the next round.

For the past month, we’ve been rolling out a series of speaker videos from the 2016 event. Rev. angel Kyodo williams is an author, activist, master trainer and founder of the Center for Transformative Change. She has been bridging the worlds of transformation and justice since releasing her critically acclaimed book, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace. She is one of only three black women Zen “senseis” and applies wisdom teachings and embodied practice to intractable social issues at the intersections of climate change, racial and economic justice, and transformative social change.

Her 27 Days of Change online program and 3rd Way Leadership supports change-makers worldwide. Her newest book collaboration, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation was released on Juneteenth—a day that symbolizes and holds forth the promise of Black Liberation—of this year. Rev. angel notes, “Love and Justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.”

Check out the video below to hear her message about why there can be no outer change without inner change.

“As people who want to commit themselves to ‘world domination,’ it is our responsibility to have some kind of a practice while the world is going to hell in a handbasket, other than buying handbaskets.”

“It turns out it’s not about love after all. It’s actually about stepping into you, being fully present with ourselves and the experience that we’re having.”

“Paradoxically, when the shit hits the fan, where your attention should go is not ‘How can I fix that?’ but ‘How can I work with me? How can I center myself? How can I ground myself? How can I be present?’”

Want to know more about WDS and how you can join us?

Every summer, thousands of people travel from all over the world to Portland, Oregon for this immersive experience in life, work, and travel. With main-stage keynote speakers, hundreds of attendee-led meetups, more than a dozen workshops known as “Academies,” two big parties, and a ridiculous number of new friends high-fiving you on street corners, it’s a truly engaging and life-changing experience.

Tickets are on sale NOW. If you’d like to come, don’t hesitate because we’re down to a limited number!

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